Embedded Files
Below are 2 slides from a presentation by Tom Mathews, based on the peer-reviewed article by him and others, "Mortality impacts of the most extreme heat events", in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment. Feb. 4, 2005
The dark red areas are viewed as uninhabitable, at 2.7°C warming (about 1.3°. from now)
As Earth continues warming, more of it will become too hot and humid for humans to survive very long. That portion now is very small - bits around the Persian Gulf and some other tropical coasts on some summer afternoons. But it will grow.
Heat stroke damages the brain & other organs. It kills 10% of victims. It often follows heat cramps, fainting, or heat exhaustion. U.S. heat stroke rates were highest in Arizona (1.7 deaths per 100,000), Nevada (1.0) and Missouri (0.8).
When conditions are too humid and hot, the body can no longer cool itself by sweating. Heat stroke can follow quickly.
Heat Is Testing the Limits of Human Survivability. Here’s How It Kills. 0724.rtf
Maps below show number of days with a wet-bulb temperature > 31°C [88°F],
for future global temperatures: 1.5, 2, 3, and 4°
This > 31°C day-night average is difficult to survive for days on end.
Highest THI (95-100°F) is in S TX & E Baja. THI 90-95°F in FL panhandle, SE of Yuma AZ & 40% of TX. Some Category II (FL, some GA-AL-MS & AZ, most of TX), but no Category III (105-129°F) in the US this day. Category III (THI 105-115°F) ocurred after noon.
2023-25 Articles
Amid Brutal Heat Wave, Officials Stress Health Risks of Hot Nights 0625.rtfUS Labor Advocates Demand Heat Protections for Workers as Planet Warms 0625.rtfWarming Climate Is Already Too Hot to Handle for 2% of Amphibians 0525.rtfHeat’s All-Cause Death Toll Mounts, Europe’s by 30% in 20 Years, to 175,000 a Year.0425.rtfLost in the Heat - the Critical Miscalculation in India’s Heat Wave Mortality Data 0425.rtfThe World Is Heating Up. How Much Can Our Bodies Handle? 0425.rtfExtreme Heat Could Double Impacts of Heart Disease by 2050 - 0325.rtfExtreme Heat Deprives Millions of Children of Education 0325.rtfColorado Bill Would Set Worker Safety Standards for Extreme Heat and Cold 0325.rtfExtreme Heat Linked to Accelerated Aging in Older Adults 0225.rtfStudy Projects Millions of European Heat Deaths as World Warms 0125.rtfHumid Heat Is Exceeding Human Tolerance & Is Causing Mass Mortality 1224.rtfClimate Crisis Exposed People to 6 Extra Weeks of Dangerous Heat in 2024 - 1224.rtfSunbelt’s Growing Population Faces Increasing Climate Hazards 1224.rtfScientists Just Confirmed the Largest Bird-Killing Event in Modern History 1224.rtfExtreme Heat-Related Deaths May Be Affecting the Young More than the Old 1224.rtfWarning From a California Marine Heat Wave 1224.rtf8 X More Children Will Face Extreme Heat Waves by 2050s - UNICEF 1124.rtfVoter Campaigns Target Latinas Worried about Climate Change 1024.rtfClick for more2023-25 Articles
How a Proposed Federal Heat Rule Might Have Saved These Workers’ Lives 1024.rtfClimate Change Is Driving Sleep Loss as Nights Get Warmer 1024.rtfIf You Can’t Stand the Heat, Work for Change in the Kitchen 1024.rtfHotter Summers Making High School Football a Fatal Game for Some Players 0924.rtfWhy Schools Are Ripping Up Playgrounds across the U.S. 0924.rtfHeat Deaths in Europe May Triple by 2100 - 0824.rtfUS Delivery Workers Swelter in Record Heat – Many without AC in Their Vans 0824.rtfWorkers across the US Rally after String of Heat-Related Deaths 0824.rtfHeat Aggravated by Carbon Pollution Killed 50,000 Europeans in 2023 - 0824.rtfHeat Claims More than 175,000 Lives Annually in Europe, Latest Data Shows 0824.rtfHow Many People Die from Extreme Temperatures, and How This Could Change 0724.rtfHeat Is Testing the Limits of Human Survivability. Here’s How It Kills. 0724.rtfHeat Can Increase Air Pollution Inside Cars by Up to 40,000 Times 0724.rtfBurns from Scorching-Hot Sidewalks and Roads Are Rising, Can Be Fatal 0724.rtfExtreme Heat Killed at Least 28 Americans This Week. The Toll Is Rising. 0724.rtfSearing Heat Threatens Health of Millions in Southeast Europe 0724.rtfHistorically Hot US Summer Is on a Killing Spree. It Shows No Signs of Stopping. 0724.rtfCan Wild Animals Handle the Heat? 0724.rtf - not as well as humans; they don't have air conditioning. They stay in cool burrows or migrate to cooler regions.No One Knows How Many People Are Dying from Extreme Heat, but Lots Are 0724.rtf - Two estimates by the same reseaarcher, Dr. Ueijo, a year apart - using different methods but the same data time span, were 34 and 600 heat-related deaths per year in the US Miami-Dade County. However, the official figure was 2. His 1st method used temperature data and death records 2015-2019. His 2nd method used the buildup to heat waves’ peaks - to capture more of their early and cumulative health impacts. In 2024 to date, official estimates for Thailand, India, Mexico, amd Saudi Arabia include 1,821 deaths. Using Ueijo's ratio of heat-related deaths to official heat death estimates suggests 550,000 heat-related deaths to date there in 2024.Tourists Are Feeling the Heat. Their Bodies May Not Be Able to Catch Up. 0724.rtf‘Potentially Historic’ Heat Wave Threatens over 130 Million Americans, Many Fires 0724.rtfWith Heat Waves, an Increased Risk for Heart Problems 0624.rtfWhen Hot Weather Arrives, Worker Productivity Is at Risk 0624.rtfOver 1,300 Hajj Heat Wave Deaths Underscore Climate Threat for Most Vulnerable 0624.rtfOutrunning the Heat? 0624.rtf - Stories about marathoners and other runners. Races cancelled by heat, etc.Egypt's Extreme Heat Is Ominous Warning for Global Economies This Summer 0624.rtf‘It’s Unbearable’- in Ever-Hotter US Cities, Air Conditioning Is No Longer Enough. 0624.rtfWarnings Increase about Risks That Extreme Temperatures Pose to Children 0624.rtfAll the Seniors We Know Will Eventually Be Highly Vulnerable to Extreme Heat 0624.rtfWhy Some Wild Animals Are Getting Insomnia - Heat 0624.rtfIndia’s Extreme Heat Leaves at Least 29 Dead 0524.rtfLast Year’s Deadly Heat Wave in Metro Phoenix Didn’t Discriminate 0524.rtfDeadly Heat in the Workplace. Biden Tries to Respond. 0524.rtfSchools That Never Needed AC Are Now Overheating. Fixes Will Cost Billions. 0524.rtfMexico's Howler Monkeys Dropping Dead as Heat Toll Mounts 0524.rtfExtreme Heat Shuts Schools for Millions, Widening Learning Gaps Worldwide 0524.rtfFatal Heat Waves Are Testing India's Ability to Protect 1.4 Billion People 0524.rtfMore than 200 Million Seniors Face Extreme Heat Risks in Coming Decades 0524.rtfToll from Unremarkably Hot Days Exceeds Those from Very Hot Days 0424.rtfThe World’s Garment Workers Are on the Front Lines of Climate Impacts 0524.rtf100s of 1,000s of Fish Die Off in Vietnam, as Heat Wave Roasts Southeast Asia 0524.rtfDangerous Heat Wave Envelops 100s of Millions in East Asia 0524.rtfMore Frequent Ocean Heat Waves Trigger Mass Die-Offs of Sea Life 0524.rtfBangkok Suffers Near-Record Temperatures, as Thailand’s Heat Death Toll Rises 0424.rtfHeat-Related US E.R. Visits Rose in 2023 - CDC 0424.rtfExtreme Heat Across East Asia and the Pacific Puts Millions of Children at Risk 0424.rtfExtreme Heat Summit to Urge Leaders to Act on Threat from Rising Temperatures 0324.rtfExtreme Heat at Work Can Double Stillbirth Risk, India Study Finds 0324.rtfFlorida Legislators Ban Local Heat Protections for Millions of Outdoor Workers 0324.rtf6 Months after the Heat Spiked, Caribbean Corals Are Still Reeling 0324.rtfDid a Marine Heat Wave Cause 7,000 Humpback Whales to Starve to Death? 0224.rtfWhy Are Fish in Crisis in a Pristine Lake, One of Earth’s Oldest? 0124.rtfExtreme Heat Set to Increase Heart Attack, Stroke Deaths in US 1023.rtfMiami-Dade County Could Create Strictest Workplace Heat Rules in US 1123.rtfThese Are the Places That Could Become ‘Unlivable’ as Earth Warms 1023.rtfClimate Triage Means Some Cold Waters In Warming Great Lakes Won’t Be Saved 1023.rtfScorching Heat Caused Deaths to Double at Busiest US-Mexico Border Route 1023.rtfRecord Heat That Canceled Twin Cities Marathon Was Spiked by Climate Change 1023.rtfMore than 100 Dolphins Dead in Amazon as Water Hits 102°F 1003.rtfAmerican Football Season Is Getting Hotter. Young Players Are Dying. 0923.rtfThe Inequality of Heat, in India 0923.rtfExtreme Heat Is Weakening Entire Marine ecosystems in Florida, Not Just Coral 0923.rtfExtreme Heat Linked to Higher Risk of Life-Threatening Birthing Complications 0923.rtfToo Hot to Learn 0923.rtfPakistan Is the Epicenter of a Global Wave of Climate Health Threats 0923.rtfPhoenix Airport Workers File Safety Complaints, over Brutal Heat and Nausea 0923.rtfExtreme Heat Forces Schools Across Northeastern U.S. to Close Early 0923.rtfAt U.S. Open, Stifling Heat Causes Some Tennis Players to Lose Their Cool 0923.rtfAmid Record Heat, Even Indoor Factory Workers Enter Dangerous Terrain 0823.rtfFarmworkers Face Increasing Heat Waves with Little Protection 0823.rtfStifling Heat Spells Misery in Schools with No Air Conditioning 0823.rtfPotentially Fatal Combinations of Humidity and Heat Emerging across the Globe 0520.rtfKids Getting Burned on Swings and Slides? Here’s How to Fix It. 0823.rtfWhy Our Oceans Being the Warmest in Recorded History Is So Concerning 0823.rtf - Marine life struggles with heat, its resulting oxygen loss, and acidification. Coral is especially hard hit. It also, via the warming-melting effects on Greenland and Antarctic ice, slows down Atlantic Ocean circulation, especially the AMOC and Gulf Stream. They may collapse by mid-century, slowly and possibly as soon as 2025. The warming also melts sea ice, a major feedback that further accelerates global warming.Heat Deaths Surge in Hottest US City, as AZ Governor Declares Heat Emergency 0823.rtfChronic Kidney Disease Poised to Become the Black Lung of Climate Change 0823.rtf - It is especially widespread among farmworkers, who labor long in the heat and humidity, without enough shade, breaks and drinking water.Dying from Heat in Greece 0823.rtfExtreme Heat Is Endangering America's Workers—and Its Economy 0823.rtfExtreme Heat Threatens Virtually Every Aspect of Human Health 0823.rtf‘People Are Dying’ - Texas Prisoners Say Heat Wave Turns Cells into Ovens 0723.rtfBig Business Lobbies against Heat Protections for Workers, as US Boils 0723.rtfExposure to Extreme Heat and Pollution May Double Risk of Deadly Heart Attack 0723.rtfDoctors Treating Spike of Arizona Patients Burned by Falling on the 180° Ground 0723.rtfIt’s Scorching in Iran, and There’s Less and Less Water to Help 0723.rtfHeat Can Kill on the Job, and These Workers Are Dying 0723.rtf‘We can’t escape’ - Climate Crisis Is Driving Up Cost of Living in the US West 0723.rtf - focus on California.Europeans Tell of Sleepless Nights and Dizzy Spells in Heat Wave 0723.rtfSizzling 115°F Heat Is Killing Phones in Italy's Sardinia Island 0723.rtfFor Florida’s Hurricane Ian Survivors, Extreme Heat Is a ‘2nd Disaster’ 0723.rtfHouston Confirms 1st Heat Death; Northern Hemisphere Boils in Severe Weather 0723.rtfEuropean Heat Wave Sparks Multiple Warnings, Shuts Greece’s Acropolis 0723.rtfSearing Pavement, Scalding Water Hoses - Perils of a Phoenix Heat Wave 0723.rtfIn a Texas City, Heat Proved Deadly Even for Those Long Used to It 0723.rtfGlobal Heating Ratchets Up the Stress on Farmworkers on the Heat Front Lines 0723.rtfNearly 62,000 People Died from Europe’s 2022 Record-Breaking Heat 0723.rtfEl Niño Is Here and the World Must Prepare for More Extreme Heat, WMO Warns 0723.rtfA Grid Collapse Would Make a Heat Wave Far Deadlier 0623.rtf - For example, 13,000 would die in Phoenix, as 800,000 people just in the city itself would require medical attention, with 4 days with high temperatures above 110°F.Emergency Room Visits and 911 Calls for Heat Illness Spike in Texas Heat Wave 0623.rtfTexas’s Night Temperatures Portend New, More Dangerous Kind of Heat Wave 0623.rtfHumans Approaching Limits of ‘Survivability’, as Heat Waves Engulf Parts of Asia 0623.rtf - Focus is on India and southeast Asia.Texas Law Overrides Safeguards like Water Breaks, as Temperatures Rise 0623.rtf - Legislature votes to kill more people, most of all farmworkers.Extreme Heat Is Deadlier than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined 0623.rtfDeaths Rise in India, as Temperatures Soar in Latest Heat Wave 0623.rtfChina’s Fatal Heat Shows Risks of Another Scorching Asian Summer 0623.rtfClimate Set to Push 1:3 of Humanity Out of Its Most Livable Environment 0623.rtfHeat-Related Prison Deaths Are Rising due to Climate Change 0523.rtfDeaths From Heatstroke Rise in Japan, Prompting Countermeasures 0523.rtfHeat Wave and Blackout Would Send Half of Phoenix to E.R., Study Says 0523.rtfHere Are the Places Most at Risk from Record-Shattering Heat 0423.rtfParis Could Hit 50°C (122°F) by 2050. How Can the City Adapt? 0423.rtfDeadly Heat Threatens the Lives and Livelihoods of 1 Billion People in India 0423.rtfIndia’s Heat Waves Endanger Development of Most Populous Nation 0423.rtfWhy Asia’s Early Heat Wave Is So Alarming 0423.rtfSevere Heat Wave Engulfs Asia, Causing Deaths and Forcing Schools to Close 0423.rtfUntamed Global Warming to Risk Soaring Death Toll in Middle East 0423.rtfRecord Heat Waves Push India Closer to Limit of Human Survival 0323.rtfDecades of Logging Tied to Hotter Salmon-Bearing Streams 0323.rtfWill Global Warming Make Temperature Less Deadly? 0223.rtfMilwaukee Is Seeing Hotter Summer Nights in Its Densely Developed Areas 0223.rtfEurope’s Hottest Summer Led to over 23,000 Excess Deaths 1122.rtfExtreme Heat Could Put 40% of Land Vertebrates in Peril by 2100 - 0123.rtfClimate Change Threatens Songbird Breeding 0123.rtfWarming Water Threatens Aquatic Life in Chesapeake Bay Region 0123.rtfThe World’s Torrid Future Is Etched in the Crippled Kidneys of Nepali Workers 0123.rtfLos Angeles Is Becoming Too Hot to Bear. Can It Design Its Way Cooler? 0123.rtf
Playgrounds are dangerous, even very dangerous, in the heat
2022 Articles
2022 Articles
Extreme Heat Will Change Us 1222.rtf‘In Delhi I can see the climate catastrophe unfolding before my eyes.’ 1122.rtfClimate Change Made Nepali Jobs in Qatar Building Stadiums More Dangerous 1122.rtfEgypt’s Barren Fields Are Dire Bellwether for Climate Summit 1122.rtfExtreme Heat Could Make Parts of Asia, Africa Uninhabitable in Decades 1022.rtfEngland’s Hot Summer Pushed Excess Deaths in Elderly to New High 1022.rtfPhoenix Could See Deadliest Year for Heat Deaths, after Sweltering Summer 1022.rtfChief Heat Officers Face Rising Temperatures — and Expectations 0922.rtfHotter, More Humid, but Cleaner - How LA’s Air Has Changed 0922.rtfThe US Is Measuring Extreme Heat Wrong 0922.rtfClimate Change in Hong Kong Worsens Housing Crisis for City’s Poor 0922.rtfChina Reports ‘Most Severe’ Heat Wave and 3rd Driest Summer on Record 0922.rtfThe Heat Wave Crushing the West Previews Farmworkers’ Hot Future 0922.rtfHotter Summer Nights Affect Everything from Death Rates to Crop Yields to Firefighting 0822.rtfFar More People Die from Heat than We Know 0822.rtf - under-diagnosedWhy the Middle East May Be Too Hot to Live In by 2100 - 0822.rtf - 0822 - High humidity near the ocean. Damn hot is even more true in the future, across the Middle East.Climate Change Is a Secret Driver of Inflation 0822.rtfIraq Broils in Dangerous 120° Heat as Power Grid Shuts Down 0822.rtfRise in Extreme Heat Will Hit Minority Communities Hardest 0822.rtf100 Million Americans Will Be in ‘Extreme Heat Belt’ by the 2050s 0822.rtfThe Year Summer Got Serious 0722.rtfUPS Drivers Push for Air Conditioning as Temperatures Soar- ‘People are dropping weekly.’ 0822.rtfHigh Temperatures Linked to Child Malnutrition in West Africa 0822.rtfBeavers Are Heat Wave Heroes 0722.rtfBrutal Heat from Phoenix to Boston Triggers Alerts for 100 Million 0722.rtfAlarm, as Fastest Growing US Cities Risk Becoming Unlivable from Climate Crisis 0722.rtfLondon’s Scorching Tube Raises Alarm over Europe’s Brutal Heat 0722.rtfChina’s Heat Wave Turns Deadly as Industrial Power Cuts Begin 0722.rtfOur Lab Found Heat + Humidity Gets Dangerous Faster than Many People Realize 0722.rtfHeat Wave — the Deadliest Weather Event — Blankets North Carolina 0722.rtfExtreme Heat Puts Workers in Danger. A New Report Calls for Action. 0622.rtfSweltering Streets - 100s of Homeless Die in Heat 0622.rtfExtreme Heat and Humidity Kill 1,000s of Cattle in Kansas 0622.rtfClimate Change Is Forcing Schools to Close Early for ‘Heat Days’ 0622.rtfExtreme Heat Linked to Rise in US Death Rates 0522.rtfHow Marine Heat Waves in Hawaii Have Ripple Effects All the Way to Arizona 0522.rtfIndia’s Heat Waves Are Testing the Limits of Human Survival 0522.rtfExtreme Heat Is a Disease for Cities. Treat It That Way. 0422.rtfMigrant Workers Suffer Heat Stress during Ramadan in Arabian Gulf 0422.rtfIndia’s Frequent Heat Waves a Reminder of Climate Change Impacts 0322.rtfExtreme Heat Threatens Health in India and Elsewhere 0322.rtfBoiling behind Bars - Texas Prisons without Air Conditioning tgo Get a Lot Hotter 0222.rtfHeatstroke in Pets Likely to Rise due to Climate Change 0222.rtfOne of the World’s Wealthiest Oil Exporters Is Becoming Unlivable 0122.rtf
Extreme Heat Will Change Us 1222.rtf - health, adaptation, inequality, the future - The story compares laborers and other people in Kuwait and Basra, Iraq. Kuwaiti citizens (but not laborers). Most Kuwaitis avoid going outside. Air conditioning is a rare luxury in Basra (Garden of Eden land), where it got to 164°F on the welder's benchtop and 179°F on a tire swing on a playground. The struggle to sweat and cool off increases risk of kidney stones and kidney disease. The welder's body temperature rose 3°C, a dangerous fever, from the outdoor heat. Chronic dehydration abounds in Basra.
35°C wet-bulb temperature (gray) is lethal. It depends highly on relative humidity.
2019-2021 Articles
2019-2021 Articles
Heat, No Food, Deadly Weather - Climate Change Kills Seabirds 1221.rtfIn a Warming World, Deforestation Turns the Heat Deadly, Borneo Study Finds 1121.rtf1 Billion People to Face Deadly Heat Stress if World Warms 2°C 1121.rtfLondon’s Tube Could Turn Unbearably Hot, Stations Flooded by Climate Change 0921.rtfProjections of Tropical Heat Stress Constrained by Atmospheric Dynamics 0321.rtfThe Dire Impact of Extreme Heat on Outdoor US Jobs 0821.rtfOSHA Refuses to Step In as Workers Languish in Extreme Heat 0821.rtfEffects of Extreme Heat on 10s of Millions of Americans 0821.rtfLethal Wet Bulb Temps above 35°C in Persian Gulf, India, etc. 0721.rtfHaj Pilgrims Face Growing Heat Stroke Risks with Global Warming 0721.rtfExtreme Heat Triggers Mass Die-Offs and Stress for Wildlife in the West 0721.rtfUS Workplace Injuries Caused by Heat Are Severely Undercounted 0721.rtfWhat Record Heat Threat at Tokyo Olympics Means for Future Sporting Events 0721.rtfHotter and Drier - Deforestation and Wildfires Take a Toll on the Amazon 0721.rtfBiden Administration, Workers Grapple with Heat Threats from Climate Change 0721.rtfHow Rising Temperatures Threaten Workers from Nicaragua to Nepal 0721.rtf‘Heat Dome’ Probably Killed 1 Billion Marine Animals on Canada Coast 0721.rtfIf You’re Poor, You’re Even Hotter during the Heat Wave 0721.rtf - Lack of money for air condtioners or electricity to run them. Also homelss people100s Believed Dead in Heat Wave, Despite Efforts to Help 0721.rtfPacific Northwest’s Deadly Summer Augurs More Heat Waves, Deaths to Come 0721.rtfExtreme Heat Is Killing People in Arizona’s Mobile Homes 0721.rtfCanada Is a Warning - More and More of World Will Soon Be Too Hot for Humans 0621.rtfNo One Was Prepared for the Northwest Heat Wave, Especially Not the Animals 0621.rtfHistoric Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Has Killed 100s in US, Canada in a Week 0721.rtf100s of Deaths across Canada, Pacific Northwest, amid Unrelenting Heat Wave 0721.rtfToo Hot to Live - Millions Worldwide Will Face Unbearable Temperatures 0621.rtfFarmworkers Lack Protection from Deadly Heat 0621.rtfWhat Do More & Earlier 90° Days, Rising Health Toll, Say about Climate Change? 0621.rtfMore than 1:3 of Heat Deaths Are Tied to Climate Change 0521.rtfHeat Wave Deaths Set to Soar as UK Summers Become Hotter 0521.rtfImpact of ‘Climate Racism' in the US - Redlining and Urban Heat Islands 0521.rtfMiami's New Chief Heat Officer Urges US to Fight Climate Change’s Silent Killer 0521.rtfExtreme Heat Risks Often Underestimated, Left Out of Major Climate Reports 0521.rtfAs Climate Changes, So Will Exercise Habits 0321.rtfGlobal Heating Pushes Tropical Regions towards Limits of Human Livability 0321.rtfGlobal Warming’s Deadly Combination - Heat and Humidity 0321.rtfArizona’s Heat Deaths Shattered the Record Last Year 0131.rtfDangerous Heat, Unequal Consequences 0121.rtf - AZ and FL, take 2 on study; more on adaptationIn Florida, Worsening Heat Puts More People at Risk 0121.rtf - FL - take 1 on studyHotter Planet Already Poses Fatal Risks, Health Experts Warn 1220.rtfHeat Waves Caused Record Deaths as Britain Struggled with Coronavirus 1120.rtfHeat Waves May Be Bad for Your Pregnancy 1120.rtfClimate Change Will Make Parts of the U.S. Uninhabitable. But Americans Are Still Moving There. 1120.rtfHotter Days Widen Racial (Air Conditioning) Gap in U.S. Schools 1020.rtfWe Made This Heat, Now We Cool It 0920.rtfUS Cities Could See 13-30 x More Extreme Heat Days by 2100, vs Early 2000s 0820.rtfRising Temps Could Kill Millions a Year by 2100 - 0820.rtf - annually, 73 per 100,000 people - take 1Rising Temperatures Will Cause More Deaths than All Infectious Disease 0820.rtf - take 2Life and Death in Our Hot Future Will Be Shaped by Today’s Income Inequality 0820.rtf - take 3Cities Are Becoming Climate Death Traps 0720.rtfSummers Could Become ‘Too Hot for Humans' 0720.rtfHumid Heat Extremes on the Rise 0720.rtfThe Emergence of Heat and Humidity Too Severe for Human Tolerance 0520.rtfDeadly Heat Is Killing Americans - A Decade of Climate Inaction Puts Lives at Risk 0620.rtfFuture of the Human Climate Niche Portends Moving 1:3 of Humans to Cooler Areas 0620.rtfSouth Asia’s Twin Threat - Extreme Heat and Foul Air 0520.rtfRed Alert for Northern Siberia as Heat Shocks Threaten Life on Tundra 0520.rtfLethal Wet-Bulb Temperatures Are Already Happening in a Few Places 0520.rtf - recent past, take 1Billions Could Live in Extreme Heat Zones Within Decades 0520.rtf - nearish future, take 1In 50 Years, Many Densely Populated Areas Could be Too Hot for Humans 0520.rtf- nearish future, take 2With Temperatures Rising, Can Animals Survive the Heat Stress? 0320.rtfRising Temperatures Put More US Workers at Risk of Dying from Heat 0120.rtfArizona Military Base Will Be Hardest Hit by Climate Change 1119.rtfIf Emissions Continue, India Could See 1 Million Heat Deaths a Year 1119.rtfRecord 2019 Heat Wave Linked to Climate Change Killed 1,500 People in France 0919.rtfClimate Change Isn’t an Intangible Future Risk. It’s Heat Is Here, Killing Us Now. 0819.rtfExtreme Heat Doesn’t Stop the Mail – Even at the Cost of Postal Workers’ Health 0819.rtfU.S. Soldiers Falling Ill and Dying in the Heat, as Climate Warms 0719.rtfExtreme Heat Is Changing Sports, from the Olympics to Local Events 0719.rtfAre Parts of India Becoming Too Hot for Humans? 0719.rtfA Heat Wave Tests Europe’s Defenses. Expect More. 0719.rtfTexas Prisoners in Growing Danger of Dying from No Air Conditioning 0719.rtfCalifornia Is So Hot that Mussels Cook in Their Shells and Highways Buckle 0719.rtf1,000s Could Perish Annually in US if Global Heating Not Curbed 0619.rtfSudden Uptick in Chronic Kidney Disease due to More Extreme Heat? 0519.rtf
Too Hot to Live - Millions Worldwide Will Face Unbearable Temperatures 0621.rtf
- A MUST read: long, detailed and wide-reaching.
Potentially Fatal Combinations of Humidity and Heat Emerging across the Globe 0520.rtf - take 2.
See wet bulb temperatures. At the original URL (here), zoom in and out for more detail, including all place names, dates, and wet bulb termperatures recorded. Using hourly data insteada of daily average data, it appears that 10 places have already equalled or exceeded the 35°C threshold of human survivability (lethal wet bulb temperature). These include 3 in Mexico, 2 each in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and 1 each in India, Australia, and Venezuela. A wet-bulb temperature calculator is here.
2018 Articles and earlier
2018 Articles and earlier
Global Warming Will Increase Heat-Related Death and Disease 1118.rtfClimate Change Will Raise Health Risks Even Higher for Florida Outdoor Workers 1018.rtf'It can’t get much hotter ... can it?' How Heat Became a National US Problem 0818.rtfHalfway to Boiling - the City at 50°C - 0818.rtfAdding Up the Cost of Climate Change in Lost Lives 0818.rtfStudy Sees Dramatic Rise in Heat Wave Deaths by 2080 - 0718.rtfChinese Most at Risk of Death from Deadly Heat Waves 0718.rtfLarge Area of China Could Soon Be Virtually Uninhabitable, as Deadly Heat Waves Become More Intense 0718.rtf'Unprecedented' Japan Heat Wave Kills 65 People in a Week 0718.rtf - thousands of hospitalizationsClimate Change Is Cooking Our Workforce 0718.rtfIn India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable 0718.rtfHow Heat Waves Can Kill People in Cooler Climates 0718.rtfThe Global Heat Wave That's Been Killing Us 0718.rtfOver 1 Billion People Struggle to Stay Cool as Earth Warms 0718.rtfWorkers Can Overheat Dangerously at Temperatures below Official Limits 0718.rtfWhy Hot Summer Nights Getting Hotter Is a Health and Wildfire Risk 0718.rtfWhat Happens to Your Body when Heat Waves Kill 0718.rtfFarmers Unable to Cope with Shocks Induced by Climate Change 0518.rtf - PakistanPrecarious Life of Texas Farmworkers Becomes Riskier with Warming 0418.rtfAre We Ready for the Deadly Heat Waves of the Future? 0418.rtfIt’s Not the Heat, It’s the Humidity - Really 0118 .rtfSilent Killer - Sweltering Planet Braces for Deadly Heat Shocks 0917.rtfHow Much Heat Can the Body and Mind Take? 0917.rtfThis Is How Your World Could End - Too Hot for Humans 0917.rtfDeadly Heat Waves Becoming More Common, due to Climate Change 0817.rtf - European Comm., take #1Weather Disasters to Impact 2 out of 3 Europeans by 2100, Study Says 0817.rtf - European Comm., take #2How Extreme Could Temperatures Become in Texas? 0817.rtfClimate Change to Cause Humid Heat Waves Killing Even Healthy People 0817.rtfWarming to Boost Deadly Humidity Levels across South Asia 0817.rtf - MIT lead author, take #1Climate Change Is Killing Us Right Now 0717.rtf - MIT lead author, take #2Australia Could Suffer from Droughts, Heat Waves as the Tropical Zone Expands 0717.rtfDeadly Heat Waves Could Endanger 3:4 of Mankind by 2100, Up from 1:3 Now 0617.rtfExtreme Heat Wave Days Already Hitting Poorer Nations More than Rich 0317.rtfWhy India Is Becoming a Drier, Hotter and Angrier Country 1116.rtfIndian Salt Producers Cope with 48°C Heat 0916.rtfBy 2085, Most Cities Could Be Too Hot for the Summer Olympics 0816.rtfWhy It’s Hotter Nights, More Than Hotter Days, That Make Heat Waves Dangerous 0816.rtfSoaring Temperatures Will Make It Too Hot to Work, Cost Over $2 Trillion by 2030 - 0716.rtfClimate Change Is Making Farm Work More Dangerous than It Already Is 0716.rtfSweltering China Tries to Dole Out Subsidies for Working in High Heat 0716.rtfAs Temperatures Climb Across the USA, Workers Will Suffer 0716.rtfWithout Emissions Cuts, Summer Heat Will Get Even Deadlier 0616.rtf - Africa is hit soonest, hardest.Africa’s Most Vulnerable Face an Even Hotter Future 0516.rtfParts of India Ban Daytime Cooking after 100s Die from Heat Wave and Fire 0416.rtfDeadly Heat Wave Is Shattering All-Time Records in Southeast Asia and India 0416.rtfRising Heat at Work Is Major New Climate Threat 0416.rtfHow Indians Are Coping with a Dangerously Hot Summer 0416.rtfSouth Asian Workers in Gulf Fear Rising Temperature 1215.rtfHeat Stress - the Next Global Public Health Crisis? 1115.rtfGlobal Warming Could Make Hajj Impossible Later This Century 1015.rtf - take 1Intolerable, Unimaginable Heat Forecast for Persian Gulf 1015.rtf - take 2Australian Climate Turns Up Heat on Tennis Stars 0915.rtfCalifornia Heat Puts Farm Workers at Risk 0915 .rtfHeat Waves Are on the Rise in Algeria, Due to Climate Change 0815.rtfHeat Wave Temps to Soar, LA 117°F etc. 0708.rtfWarming Threatens Our Productivity. More Could Lead to Endless Recession. 0815.rtf - Heat stress from 2°C warmer cuts output more than the 2007-9 recession, permanently.Surge In ‘Danger Days’ Just around the Corner 0815.rtfIran City Hits Suffocating Heat Index of 165°F, near World Record 0715.rtf - 115°F, 90°F dew point. Almost as bad in nearby places and days.Global Warming May Not Be So Great for Plant Life, after All 0615.rtf - gain range near poles, but lose far more in tropicsThe Deadly Combination of Heat and Humidity 0615.rtf - At a wet-bulb termperature (see table at left) over 80°F, a physically active person has trouble maintaining core body temperature and risks overheating. A sedentary person who is naked and in the shade will run into the same problem at a wet-bulb temperature of 92°F. A wet-bulb temperature of 95°F is lethal after about 6 hours.The Climate Context for India’s Deadly Heat Wave 0615.rtf - Las Vegas 48, Astoria OR 8, Missoula MT 11.The Heat and Death Toll Are Rising in India. Is This a Glimpse of Earth’s Future? 0515.rtf - 1,800 people as of May 30Climate Change a Risk to Australians’ Health 0415.rtfExcessive Heat Threatens Future of Australian Outdoor Summer Sport 0215.rtfAging Population to Compound Deadly Effects of Worsening Heat Waves 1114.rtfWith Heat and Humidity, Areas Will Become Unsuited for Outdoor Activity 0614.rtfClimate Change Threatens Newest Prescription for Children - Time Outdoors 0914.rtfClimate Downgrade - Heat Stress 1112.rtf - In September 2011, Jim Hansen said "If we stay on with business as usual, the southern U.S. will become almost uninhabitable.” thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/09/29/332369/nasa-hansen-the-southern-u-s-will-become-almost-uninhabitable/Heat Waves Are the Deadliest Extreme Weather Event - CDC 0813.rtfAs Temperatures Rise, Lancaster Farmers Cool Their Cows 0713.rtfHome Air Conditioning Cut Early Deaths on Hot Days by 80% 1212.rtfWarming Will Cut Human Work Capacity a Lot 0213.rtf - The great heat would make human work capacity drop 37% by 2100 during the hottest summer months. Sustained work would become impossible in the lower Mississippi Valley - worse than Bahrain today. Heat and humidity in Washington DC would be worse than in New Orleans in summer today. Even New York City heat stress would exceed today's Bahrain level by 2200. The effect could be reduced, but not eliminated, by stabilizing CO2 levels soon.Rising Temperatures Increase Health Risks 0513.rtfHeat Wave Temps to Soar, LA 117°F etc. 0708.rtf
Surge In ‘Danger Days’ Just around the Corner 0815.rtf
Portland, ME, Flint, MI & Rochester, NY are set to each go from 0 danger days to more than 60 / year by 2050.
Days above 95°F will roughly triple. (See Figure 1, partly excerpted above.) This includes 75-100 such days a year for southern Illinois (Carbondale, Cairo, Vincennes, plus Decauter) and more than half of Missouri (St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Joplin, Sedalia, Rolla, Poplar Bluff, Hannibal, etc.) It also includes Evansville IN and sliver of Ohio between Portsmouth and Marietta and Iowa north of Hannibal. This is almost as hot as Las Vegas.
The Midwest in particular will experience rising temperatures, in terms of warmer winters more than unbearable summers. But by the end of the century, the average Midwesterner will likely see 22 to 77 days per year over 95°F, compared to only 3, on average, over the past 30 years.
There is a 5% (or more) chance that 125-150 days a year will exceed 95°F in much the same area (plus Terre Haute and Jasper IN and Effingham IL, but minus Hannibal and Sedalia MO). See the rest of Figure 1 in the report.
These compare to 114 days above 95°F for Las Vegas in 2014, 95 such days in 2013, and 115 in 2012. The southern Midwest can become hotter than Las Vegas by the end of the century (or a little later), if current emission trends continue.
Below at right, Category II probably corresponds to green in the colored table above (THI 90-104°F), Category III to yellow (105-129°F), and Category IV to red (130°F +).
Below, based on current emission trends (maps from Figure 3 in the report), summers in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana grow hotter by 2100 than Texas and Arizona ones today. Iowa and Ohio ones grow as hot as Texas ones now. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin summers grow almost as hot.
At right, heat stroke days will increase dramatically by the end of the century, from none now. Most of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana would suffer 40-60 days a year of dangerous heat: as bad (hot and humid) as anywhere in Texas. Ohio and Iowa would see 30-50 such days a year.
Worse, all of Illinois - and most of Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana - would experience 10-25 days a year of extremely dangerous heat: hotter (wet bulb) than anywhere in Texas.
In fact, “On our current path, the Midwest will likely see an average of as many as 3 days per year of Category IV conditions, which have never been experienced in the U.S. to date.”
Section Map: Bio Impacts
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